HBO Host Escalates Battle With Danbury, Mayor Gives Ultimatum

A war of words between HBO's John Oliver and the Danbury mayor has escalated into a glorious spectacle of mockery.

During a time when everyone can use a moment of levity, a back-and-forth between the host of Last Week Tonight and Mayor Mark Boughton has become a much-needed distraction from 2020.

The battle started on August 16 when Oliver launched a series of insults at the Connecticut city during a segment about jury selection. An aside to the story had the host ranting about the insignificance of Danbury, saying "If you're going to forget a town in Connecticut, why not forget Danbury? Because (and this is true) F--- You Danbury!"

Danbury's mayor, Mark Boughton responded with a video of his own, vowing to rename the city's sewer treatment plant after John Oliver. Addressing the HBO host, the mayor said the name change was appropriate because "It's full of (bleep), just like you, John."

If you thought this was the end of the story, you obviously haven't watched Last Week Tonight and are blissfully unaware of Mayor Boughton's love of the spotlight. Last week's episode ended with a special segment about Danbury's reaction to the show. Clips of Boughton's offer to rename the treatment plant, as well as videos from other Danbury residents were shown to the delight of the host who gave the city kudos for their humorous response.

Oliver's giddiness over the response from Danbury quickly turned sour when he realized the mayor's offer to rename the sewage treatment plant wasn't genuine. A clip from the local news revealed that Boughton actually had no intention to put Oliver's name on the building.

This caused the host to launch into one of his patented "deep-dives," revealing just how much the sewage treatment plant cost the city. Offended that the offer wasn't real, Oliver upped the ante, offering $55,000 in cash to local charities if Boughton made good on his promise to name the plant after him.

A few days after the broadcast, Boughton released his own video on Facebook taking Oliver up on his offer. However, the mayor said he had one condition; the host would have to come to Danbury himself to cut the ribbon on the renamed municipal building.

It's unclear if Boughton's demands have gone a bit too far, especially since Oliver apparently hasn't even left this basement since the pandemic began, filming the show in his own personal, "white void."

What is certain is that we haven't heard the last of this story. Be sure to stay tuned for future developments as we await HBO's response.